The western section of Midtown Alley has its share of reputable foodservice establishments: Pappy’s, Southern, Sapporo 2, Fountain on Locust, Egg Midtown, Small Batch, Urban Chestnut, Work & Leisure…
It’s now time for the eastern part to get in on the action, according to developer Jassen Johnson of Renaissance Development Associates and Tower Real Estate Group.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
The cornerstone of the activity is the building at 2700 Locust at N. Beaumont (pictured at right), home to Nexus Cultural Cuisine & Craft Cocktails and Anita Café & Bar, both slated to open this summer. Just around the corner is Videira Wine Shop & Bar, owned by Mykel McIntosh, who previously worked with Misha Sampson and Ceaira Jackson at Bait in the Central West End before launching Nexus.
“I originally was just going to work for them [at Nexus],” McIntosh says, “and then Ceaira suggested I do my own thing in the space next door.”
McIntosh is a longtime industry professional, who over the years “became friends with a lot of fellow industry people, like wine experts and craft cocktail bartenders who want to help me. These people really want me to succeed… It’s wonderful.”
Vidiera (Portugese for “grapevine”) will offer a slightly less traditional take on the wine bar, McIntosh says. The ceilings are high, the lights will be low, and the lounge seating will be comfortable. “I want people to say, ‘I love this place, and I can sit here for hours,’” McIntosh says, adding that the vibe will aim to be “a mashup of 33 Wine Bar and Brennan’s…a mix of the wine knowledge you pick up at 33 with the coziness you experience at Brennan’s.”
Behind the bar is a dispensing system for glass wines (to better control quality and freshness). McIntosh prefers California wines but says other regions and countries will be represented. Bottles of wine will also be available, as well as local beers and cocktails (made with fresh-squeezed juices and handmade syrups) named after movie stars, some of whom will be depicted in black-and-white photos on the walls—part of the “sexy, old Hollywood” theme. Following suit, the music will be low-fi, chill, house music, “nothing loud and crazy,” McIntosh says.
In another nontraditional twist, wine, beer, and spirits will be sold at retail, as will the local cheese, meats, and accouterments featured on the charcuterie boards, which will venture beyond basic salami and feature “funkier ingredients, like venison, smoked duck, and bresaola.” Burrata and other wine-friendly fare will round out the small-plates menu.
Guests will enter Vidiera off Beaumont Street, where some sidewalk seating will be available. There will be additional outdoor seating on a covered interior garden space that will be shared among the other tenants, which, Johnson says, will be named soon.
